the serpent's shadow
by The heir of chaos
Summary: well ... my version of the serpent's shadow
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1. We Crash and Burn a Party**

SADIE KANE HERE.

If you're listening to this, congratulations! You survived Doomsday.

I'd like to apologize straightaway for any inconvenience the end of the world may have caused you. The earthquakes, rebelions, riots, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, and of course the giant snake who swalowed the sun - I'm afraid most of that was our fault. Carter and I decided we should at least explain how it happened.

This will probably be our last recording. By the time you've heard our story, the reason for that will be obvious.

Our problems started in Dalas, when the fire-breathing sheep destroyed the King Tut exhibit.

That night the Texas magicians were hosting a party in the sculpture garden across the street from the Dalas Museum of Art. The men wore tuxedos and cowboy boots. The women wore evening dresses and hairdos like explosions of candy floss.

dresses and hairdos like explosions of candy floss.

(Carter says it's caled cotton candy in America. I don't care.

I was raised in London, so you'll just have to keep up and learn the proper way of saying things.)

A band played old-timey country music on the pavilion.

Strings of fairy lights glimmered in the trees. Magicians did occasionaly pop out of secret doors in the sculptures or summon sparks of fire to burn away pesky mosquitoes, but otherwise it seemed like quite a normal party.

The leader of the Fifty-first Nome, JD Grissom, was chatting with his guests and enjoying a plate of beef tacos when we puled him away for an emergency meeting. I felt bad about that, but there wasn't much choice, considering the danger he was in.

"An attack?" He frowned. "The Tut exhibit has been open for a month now. If Apophis was going to strike, wouldn't he have done it already?"

JD was tall and stout, with a rugged, weathered face, feathery red hair, and hands as rough as bark. He looked about forty, but it's hard to tell with magicians. He might have been four hundred.

He wore a black suit with a bolo tie and a large silver Lone Star belt buckle, like a Wild West Marshall.

"Let's talk on the way," Carter said. He started leading us toward the opposite side of the garden.

I must admit my brother acted remarkably confident.

He was still a monumental dork, of course. His nappy brown hair had a chunk missing on the left side where his griffin had given hair had a chunk missing on the left side where his griffin had given him a "love bite," and you could tell from the nicks on his face that he hadn't quite mastered the art of shaving. But since his fifteenth birthday he'd shot up in height and put on muscle from hours of combat training. He looked poised and mature in his black linen clothes, especialy with that khopesh sword at his side. I could almost imagine him as a leader of men without laughing hystericaly.

[Why are you glaring at me, Carter? That was quite a generous description.]

Carter maneuvered around the buffet table, grabbing a handful of tortila chips. "Apophis has a pattern," he told JD. "The other attacks all happened on the night of the new moon, when darkness is greatest. Believe me, he'll hit your museum tonight.

And he'll hit it hard."

JD Grissom squeezed around a cluster of magicians drinking champagne. "These other attacks..." he said. "You mean Chicago and Mexico City?"

"And Toronto," Carter said. "And...a few others." I knew he didn't want to say more. The attacks we'd witnessed over the summer had left us both with nightmares.

True, ful-out Armageddon hadn't come yet. It had been six months since the Chaos snake Apophis had escaped from his Underworld prison, but he still hadn't launched a large-scale invasion of the mortal world as we'd expected. For some reason, the serpent was biding his time, settling for smaler attacks on nomes that seemed secure and happy.

Like this one, I thought.

As we passed the pavilion, the band finished their song. A pretty blond woman with a fiddle waved her bow at JD.

"Come on, sweetie!" she caled. "We need you on steel guitar!"

He forced a smile. "Soon, hon. I'll be back." We walked on. JD turned to us. "My wife, Anne."

"Is she also a magician?" I asked.

He nodded, his expression turning dark. "These attacks. Why are you so sure Apophis will strike here?" Carter's mouth was full of tortila chips, so his response was,

"Mhm-hmm."

"He's after a certain artifact," I translated. "He's already destroyed five copies of it. The last one in existence happens to be in your Tut exhibit."

"Which artifact?" JD asked.

I hesitated. Before coming to Dalas, we'd cast all sorts of shielding spels and loaded up on protective amulets to prevent magical eavesdropping, but I was still nervous about speaking our plans aloud.

"Better we show you." I stepped around a fountain, where two young magicians were tracing glowing I Love You messages on the paving stones with their wands. "We've brought our own crack team to help. They're waiting at the museum. If you'll let us examine the artifact, possibly take it with us for safekeeping - " examine the artifact, possibly take it with us for safekeeping - "

"Take it with you?" JD scowled. "The exhibit is heavily guarded. I have my best magicians surrounding it night and day.

You think you can do better at Brooklyn House?" We stopped at the edge of the garden. Across the street, a two-story-tall King Tut banner hung from the side of the museum.

Carter took out his mobile phone. He showed JD Grissom an image on the screen - a burned-out mansion that had once been the headquarters for the One Hundredth Nome in Toronto.

"I'm sure your guards are good," Carter said. "But we'd rather not make your nome a target for Apophis. In the other attacks like this one...the serpent's minions didn't leave any survivors."

JD stared at the phone's screen, then glanced back at his wife, Anne, who was fiddling her way through a two-step.

"Fine," JD said. "I hope your team is top-notch."

"They're amazing," I promised. "Come on, we'll introduce you."

Our crack squad of magicians was busy raiding the gift shop.

Felix had summoned three penguins, which were waddling around wearing paper King Tut masks. Our baboon friend, Khufu, sat atop a bookshelf reading The History of the Pharaohs, which would've been quite impressive except he was holding the book upside down. Walt - oh, dear Walt, why? - had opened the

jewelry cabinet and was examining charm bracelets and necklaces as if they might be magical. Alyssa levitated clay pots with her earth elemental magic, juggling twenty or thirty at a time in a figure eight.

Carter cleared his throat.

Walt froze, his hands full of gold jewelry. Khufu scrambled down the bookshelf, knocking off most of the books. Alyssa's pottery crashed to the floor. Felix tried to shoo his penguins behind the til. (He does have rather strong feelings about the usefulness of penguins. I'm afraid I can't explain it.) JD Grissom drummed his fingers against his Lone Star belt buckle. "This is your amazing team?"

"Yes!" I tried for a winning smile. "Sorry about the mess. I'll just, um..."

I puled my wand from my belt and spoke a word of power:

"Hi-nehm!"

I'd got better at such spels. Most of the time, I could now channel power from my patron goddess Isis without passing out.

And I hadn't exploded once.

The hieroglyph for Join together glowed briefly in the air: Broken bits of pottery flew back together and mended Broken bits of pottery flew back together and mended themselves. Books returned to the shelf. The King Tut masks flew off the penguins, revealing them to be - gasp - penguins.

Our friends looked rather embarrassed.

"Sorry," Walt mumbled, putting the jewelry back in the case.

"We got bored."

I couldn't stay mad at Walt. He was tall and athletic, built like a basketball player, in workout pants and sleeveless tee that showed off his sculpted arms. His skin was the color of hot cocoa, his face every bit as regal and handsome as the statues of his pharaoh ancestors.

Did I fancy him? Wel, it's complicated. More on that later.

JD Grissom looked over our team.

"Nice to meet you al." He managed to contain his enthusiasm. "Come with me."

The museum's main foyer was a vast white room with empty cafe tables, a stage, and a ceiling high enough for a pet giraffe. On one side, stairs led up to a balcony with a row of offices. On the other side, glass wals looked out at the nighttime skyline of Dalas.

JD pointed up at the balcony, where two men in black linen robes were patroling. "You see? Guards are everywhere." The men had their staffs and wands ready. They glanced down at us, and I noticed their eyes were glowing. Hieroglyphs were painted on their cheekbones like war paint.

Alyssa whispered to me: "What's up with their eyes?"

"Surveilance magic," I guessed. "The symbols alow the

"Surveilance magic," I guessed. "The symbols alow the guards to see into the Duat."

Alyssa bit her lip. Since her patron was the earth god Geb, she liked solid things, such as stone and clay. She didn't like heights or deep water. She definitely didn't like the idea of the Duat - the magical realm that coexisted with ours.

Once, when I'd described the Duat as an ocean under our feet with layers and layers of magical dimensions going down forever, I thought Alyssa was going to get seasick.

Ten-year-old Felix, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

"Cool!" he said. "I want glowing eyes."

He traced his finger across his cheeks, leaving shiny purple blobs in the shape of Antarctica.

Alyssa laughed. "Can you see into the Duat now?"

"No," he admitted. "But I can see my penguins much better."

"We should hurry," Carter reminded us. "Apophis usualy strikes when the moon is at the top of its transit. Which is - "

"Agh!" Khufu held up all ten fingers. Leave it to a baboon to have perfect astronomical sense.

"In ten minutes," I said. "Just briliant." We approached the entrance of the King Tut exhibit, which was rather hard to miss because of the giant golden sign that read KING TUT EXHIBIT. Two magicians stood guard with ful-grown leopards on leashes.

Carter looked at JD in astonishment. "How did you get Carter looked at JD in astonishment. "How did you get complete access to the museum?"

The Texan shrugged. "My wife, Anne, is president of the board. Now, which artifact did you want to see?"

"I studied your exhibit maps," Carter said. "Come on. I'll show you."

The leopards seemed quite interested in Felix's penguins, but the guards held them back and let us pass.

Inside, the exhibit was extensive, but I doubt you care about the details. A labyrinth of rooms with sarcophagi, statues, furniture, bits of gold jewelry - blah, blah, blah. I would have passed it all by. I've seen enough Egyptian colections to last several lifetimes, thank you very much.

Besides, everywhere I looked, I saw reminders of bad experiences.

We passed cases of shabti figurines, no doubt enchanted to come to life when caled upon. I'd kiled my share of those. We passed statues of glowering monsters and gods whom I'd fought in person - the vulture Nekhbet, who'd once possessed my Gran (long story); the crocodile Sobek, who'd tried to kill my cat (longer story); and the lion goddess Sekhmet, whom we'd once vanquished with hot sauce (don't even ask).

Most upsetting of al: a small alabaster statue of our friend Bes, the dwarf god. The carving was eons old, but I recognized that pug nose, the bushy sideburns, the potbely, and the endearingly ugly face that looked as if it had been hit repeatedly endearingly ugly face that looked as if it had been hit repeatedly with a frying pan. We'd only known Bes for a few days, but he'd literaly sacrificed his soul to help us. Now, each time I saw him I was reminded of a debt I could never repay.

I must have lingered at his statue longer than I realized. The rest of the group had passed me and were turning into the next room, about twenty meters ahead, when a voice next to me said,

"Psst!"

I looked around. I thought the statue of Bes might have spoken. Then the voice caled again: "Hey, dol. Listen up. Not much time."

In the middle of the wal, eye-level with me, a man's face bulged from the white, textured paint as if trying to break through.

He had a beak of a nose, cruel thin lips, and a high forehead.

Though he was the same color as the wal, he seemed very much alive. His blank eyes managed to convey a look of impatience.

"You won't save the scroll, dol," he warned. "Even if you did, you'd never understand it. You need my help." I'd experienced many strange things since I'd begun practicing magic, so I wasn't particularly startled. still, I knew better than to trust any old white-spackled apparition who spoke to me, especialy one who caled me doll. He reminded me of a character from those sily Mafia movies the boys at Brooklyn House liked to watch in their spare time - someone's Uncle Vinnie, perhaps.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

The man snorted. "Like you don't know. Like there's The man snorted. "Like you don't know. Like there's anybody who doesn't know. You've got two days until they put me down. You want to defeat Apophis, you'd better pull some strings and get me out of here."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.

The man didn't sound like Set the god of evil, or the serpent Apophis, or any of the other vilains I'd dealt with before, but one could never be sure. There was this thing caled magic, after al.

The man jutted out his chin. "Okay, I get it. You want a show of faith. You'll never save the scroll, but go for the golden box.

That'll give you a clue about what you need, if you're smart enough to understand it. Day after tomorrow at sunset, dol. Then my offer expires, 'cause that's when I get permanently - " He choked. His eyes widened. He strained as if a noose were tightening around his neck. He slowly melted back into the wal.

"Sadie?" Walt caled from the end of the corridor. "You okay?"

I looked over. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" he asked.

Of course not, I thought. What fun would it be if other people saw my vision of Uncle Vinnie? Then I couldn't wonder if I were going stark raving mad.

"Nothing," I said, and I ran to catch up.

The entrance to the next room was flanked by two giant obsidian The entrance to the next room was flanked by two giant obsidian sphinxes with the bodies of lions and the heads of rams. Carter says that particular type of sphinx is caled a criosphinx. [Thanks, Carter. We were all dying to know that bit of useless information.]

"Agh!" Khufu warned, holding up five fingers.

"Five minutes left," Carter translated.

"Give me a moment," JD said. "This room has the heaviest protective spels. I'll need to modify them to let you through."

"Uh," I said nervously, "but the spels will still keep out enemies, like giant Chaos snakes, I hope?" JD gave me an exasperated look, which I tend to get a lot.

"I do know a thing or two about protective magic," he promised. "Trust me." He raised his wand and began to chant.

Carter puled me aside. "You okay?"

I must have looked shaken from my encounter with Uncle Vinnie. "I'm fine," I said. "Saw something back there. Probably just one of Apophis's tricks, but..."

My eyes drifted to the other end of the corridor. Walt was staring at a golden throne in a glass case. He leaned forward with one hand on the glass as if he might be sick.

"Hold that thought," I told Carter.

I moved to Walt's side. Light from the exhibit bathed his face, turning his features reddish brown like the hils of Egypt.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Tutankhamen died in that chair," he said.

"Tutankhamen died in that chair," he said.

I read the display card. It didn't say anything about Tut dying in the chair, but Walt sounded very sure. Perhaps he could sense the family curse. King Tut was Walt's great-times-a-bilion granduncle, and the same genetic poison that kiled Tut at nineteen was now coursing through Walt's bloodstream, getting stronger the more he practiced magic. Yet Walt refused to slow down. Looking at the throne of his ancestor, he must have felt as if he were reading his own obituary.

"We'll find a cure," I promised. "As soon as we deal with Apophis..."

He looked at me, and my voice faltered. We both knew our chances of defeating Apophis were slim. Even if we succeeded, there was no guarantee Walt would live long enough to enjoy the victory. Today was one of Walt's good days, and still I could see the pain in his eyes.

"Guys," Carter caled. "We're ready."

The room beyond the criosphinxes was a "greatest hits" colection from the Egyptian afterlife. A life-sized wooden Anubis stared down from his pedestal. Atop a replica of the scales of justice sat a golden baboon, which Khufu immediately started flirting with. There were masks of pharaohs, maps of the Underworld, and loads of canopic jars that had once been filed with mummy organs.

Carter passed all that by. He gathered us around a long papyrus scroll in a glass case on the back wal.

papyrus scroll in a glass case on the back wal.

"This is what you're after?" JD frowned. "The Book of Overcoming Apophis? You do realize that even the best spels against Apophis aren't very effective."

Carter reached in his pocket and produced a bit of burned papyrus. "This is all we could salvage from Toronto. It was another copy of the same scroll."

JD took the papyrus scrap. It was no bigger than a postcard and too charred to let us make out more than a few hieroglyphs.

"'Overcoming Apophis...'" he read. "But this is one of the most common magic scrols. Hundreds of copies have survived from ancient times."

"No." I fought the urge to look over my shoulder, in case any giant serpents were listening in. "Apophis is after only one particular version, written by this chap." I tapped the information plaque next to the display.

"'Attributed to Prince Khaemwaset,'" I read, "'better known as Setne.'"

JD scowled. "That's an evil name...one of most vilainous magicians who ever lived."

"So we've heard," I said, "and Apophis is destroying only Setne's version of the scroll. As far as we can tel, only six copies existed. Apophis has already burned five. This is the last one." JD studied the burned papyrus scrap doubtfuly. "If Apophis has truly risen from the Duat with all his power, why would he care about a few scrols? No spell could possibly stop him. Why hasn't about a few scrols? No spell could possibly stop him. Why hasn't he already destroyed the world?"

We'd been asking ourselves the same question for months.

"Apophis is afraid of this scroll," I said, hoping I was right.

"Something in it must hold the secret to defeating him. He wants to make sure all copies are destroyed before he invades the world."

"Sadie, we need to hurry," Carter said. "The attack could come any minute."

I stepped closer to the scroll. It was roughly two meters long and a half-meter tal, with dense lines of hieroglyphs and colorful ilustrations. I'd seen loads of scrols like this describing ways to defeat Chaos, with chants designed to keep the serpent Apophis from devouring the sun god Ra on his nightly journey through the Duat. Ancient Egyptians had been quite obsessed with this subject.

Cheery bunch, those Egyptians.

I could read the hieroglyphs - one of my many amazing talents - but the scroll was a lot to take in. At first glance, nothing struck me as particularly helpful. There were the usual descriptions of the River of Night, down which Ra's sun boat traveled. Been there, thanks. There were tips on how to handle the various demons of the Duat. Met them. Kiled them. Got the T-shirt.

"Sadie?" Carter asked. "Anything?"

"Don't know yet," I grumbled. "Give me a moment." I found it annoying that my bookish brother was the combat magician, while I was expected to be the great reader of magic. I barely had the patience for magazines, much less musty scrols. barely had the patience for magazines, much less musty scrols.

You'd never understand it, the face in the wall had warned.

You need my help.

"We'll have to take it with us," I decided. "I'm sure I can figure it out with a little more - "

The building shook. Khufu shrieked and leaped into the arms of the golden baboon. Felix's penguins waddled around franticaly.

"That sounded like - " JD Grissom blanched. "An explosion outside. The party!"

"It's a diversion," Carter warned. "Apophis is trying to draw our defenses away from the scroll."

"They're attacking my friends," JD said in a strangled voice.

"My wife."

"Go!" I said. I glared at my brother. "We can handle the scroll. JD's wife is in danger!"

JD clasped my hands. "Take the scroll. Good luck." He ran from the room.

I turned back to the display. "Walt, can you open the case?

We need to get this out of here as fast - " Evil laughter filed the room. A dry, heavy voice, deep as a nuclear blast, echoed all around us: "I don't think so, Sadie Kane."

My skin felt as if it were turning to brittle papyrus. I remembered that voice. I remembered how it felt being so close to Chaos, as if my blood were turning to fire, and the strands of my Chaos, as if my blood were turning to fire, and the strands of my DNA were unraveling.

"I think I'll destroy you with the guardians of Ma'at," Apophis said. "Yes, that will be amusing." At the entrance to the room, the two obsidian criosphinxes turned. They blocked the exit, standing shoulder to shoulder.

Flames curled from their nostrils.

In the voice of Apophis, they spoke in unison: "No one leaves this place alive. Good-bye, Sadie Kane."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2. I Have a Word with Chaos**

WOULD YOU BE SURPRISED TO LEARN that things went badly from there?

I didn't think so.

Our first casualties were Felix's penguins. The criosphinxes blew fire at the unfortunate birds, and they melted into puddles of water.

"No!" Felix cried.

The room rumbled, much stronger this time.

Khufu screamed and jumped on Carter's head, knocking him to the floor. Under different circumstances that would've been funny, but I realized Khufu had just saved my brother's life.

Where Carter had been standing, the floor dissolved, marble tiles crumbling as if broken apart by an invisible jackhammer. The area of disruption snaked across the room, destroying everything in its path, sucking artifacts into the ground and chewing them to bits.

Yes... snaked was the right word. The destruction slithered exactly like a serpent, heading straight for the back wall and the Book of Overcoming Apophis.

Overcoming Apophis.

"scroll!" I shouted.

No one seemed to hear. Carter was still on the floor, trying to pry Khufu off his head. Felix knelt in shock at the puddles of his penguins, while Walt and Alyssa tried to pull him away from the fiery criosphinxes.

I slipped my wand from my belt and shouted the first word of power that came to mind: "Drowah!"

Golden hieroglyphs - the command for Boundary - blazed in the air. A wall of light flashed between the display case and the advancing line of destruction:

I'd often used this spell to separate quarreling initiates or to protect the snack cupboard from late-night nom-nom raids, but I'd never tried it for something so important.

As soon as the invisible jackhammer reached my shield, the spell began to fall apart. The disturbance spread up the wall of light, shaking it to pieces. I tried to concentrate, but a much more powerful force - Chaos itself - was working against me, invading my mind and scattering my magic.

In a panic, I realized I couldn't let go. I was locked in a battle I couldn't win. Apophis was shredding my thoughts as easily as he'd shredded the floor.

he'd shredded the floor.

Walt knocked the wand out of my hands.

Darkness washed over me. I slumped into Walt's arms.

When my vision cleared, my hands were burned and steaming. I was too shocked to feel the pain. The Book of Overcoming Apophis was gone. Nothing remained except a pile of rubble and a massive hole in the wal, as if a tank had smashed through.

Despair threatened to close up my throat, but my friends gathered around me. Walt held me steady. Carter drew his sword.

Khufu showed his fangs and barked at the criosphinxes. Alyssa wrapped her arms around Felix, who was sobbing into her sleeve.

He had quickly lost his courage when his penguins were taken away.

"So that's it?" I shouted at the criosphinxes. "Burn up the scroll and run away as usual? Are you so afraid to show yourself in person?"

More laughter roled through the room. The criosphinxes stood unmoving in the doorway, but figurines and jewelry rattled in the display cases. With a painful creaking sound, the golden baboon statue that Khufu had been chatting up suddenly turned its head.

"But I am everywhere." The serpent spoke through the statue's mouth. "I can destroy anything you value...and anyone you value."

Khufu wailed in outrage. He launched himself at the baboon and knocked it over. It melted into a steaming pool of gold.

and knocked it over. It melted into a steaming pool of gold.

A different statue came to life - a gilded wooden pharaoh with a hunting spear. Its eyes turned the color of blood. Its carved mouth twisted into a smile. "Your magic is weak, Sadie Kane.

Human civilization has grown as old and rotten. I will swalow the sun god and plunge your world into darkness. The Sea of Chaos will consume you al."

As if the energy were too much for it to contain, the pharaoh statue burst. Its pedestal disintegrated, and another line of evil jackhammer magic snaked across the room, churning up the floor tiles. It headed for a display against the east wal - a small golden cabinet.

Save it, said a voice inside me - possibly my subconscious, or possibly the voice of Isis, my patron goddess. We'd shared thoughts so many times, it was hard to be sure.

I remembered what the face in the wall had told me... Go for the golden box. That'll give you a clue about what you need.

"The box!" I yelped. "Stop him!"

My friends stared at me. From somewhere outside, another explosion shook the building. Chunks of plaster rained from the ceiling.

"Are these children the best you could send against me?" Apophis spoke from an ivory shabti in the nearest case - a miniature sailor on a toy boat. "Walt Stone...you are the luckiest.

Even if you survive tonight, your sickness will kill you before my great victory. You won't have to watch your world destroyed." Walt staggered. Suddenly I was supporting him. My burned hands hurt so badly, I had to fight down a surge of nausea.

The line of destruction trundled across the floor, still heading for the golden cabinet. Alyssa thrust out her staff and barked a command.

For a moment, the floor stabilized, smoothing into a solid sheet of gray stone. Then new cracks appeared, and the force of Chaos blasted its way through.

"Brave Alyssa," the serpent said, "the earth you love will dissolve into Chaos. You will have no place to stand!" Alyssa's staff burst into flames. She screamed and threw it aside.

"Stop it!" Felix yeled. He smashed the glass case with his staff and demolished the miniature sailor along with a dozen other shabti.

Apophis's voice simply moved to a jade amulet of Isis on a nearby manikin. "Ah, little Felix, I find you amusing. Perhaps I'll keep you as a pet, like those ridiculous birds you love. I wonder how long you'll last before your sanity crumbles." Felix threw his wand and knocked over the manikin.

The crumbling trail of Chaos was now halfway to the golden cabinet.

"He's after that box!" I managed to say. "Save the box!" Granted, it wasn't the most inspiring call to battle, but Carter seemed to understand. He jumped in front of the advancing Chaos, seemed to understand. He jumped in front of the advancing Chaos, stabbing his sword into the floor. His blade cut through the marble tile like ice cream. A blue line of magic extended to either side -

Carter's own version of a force field. The line of disruption slammed against the barrier and staled.

"Poor Carter Kane." The serpent's voice was all around us now - jumping from artifact to artifact, each one bursting from the power of Chaos. "Your leadership is doomed. Everything you tried to build will crumble. You will lose the ones you love the most."

Carter's blue defensive line began to flicker. If I didn't help him quickly...

"Apophis!" I yeled. "Why wait to destroy me? Do it now, you overgrown rat snake!"

A hiss echoed through the room. Perhaps I should mention that one of my many talents is making people angry. Apparently it worked on snakes, too.

The floor settled. Carter released his shielding spell and almost colapsed. Khufu, bless his baboon wits, leaped to the golden cabinet, picked it up, and bounded off with it.

When Apophis spoke again, his voice hardened with anger.

"Very well, Sadie Kane. It's time to die." The two ram-headed sphinxes stirred, their mouths glowing with flames. Then they lunged straight at me.

Fortunately one of them slipped in a puddle of penguin water and Fortunately one of them slipped in a puddle of penguin water and skidded off to the left. The other would've ripped my throat out had it not been tackled by a timely camel.

Yes, an actual ful-sized camel. If you find that confusing, just think how the criosphinx must have felt.

Where did the camel come from, you ask? I may have mentioned Walt's colection of amulets. Two of them summoned disgusting camels. I'd met them before, so I was less than excited when a ton of dromedary flesh flew across my line of sight, plowed into the sphinx, and colapsed on top of it. The sphinx growled in outrage as it tried to free itself. The camel grunted and farted.

"Hindenburg," I said. Only one camel could possibly fart that badly. "Walt, why in the world - ?"

"Sorry!" he yeled. "Wrong amulet!"

The technique worked, at any rate. The camel wasn't much of a fighter, but it was quite heavy and clumsy. The criosphinx snarled and clawed at the floor, trying unsuccessfuly to push the camel off; but Hindenburg just splayed his legs, made alarmed honking sounds, and let loose gas.

I moved to Walt's side and tried to get my bearings.

The room was quite literaly in chaos. Tendrils of red lightning arced between exhibits. The floor was crumbling. The wals cracked. Artifacts were coming to life and attacking my friends.

Carter fended off the other criosphinx, stabbing it with his khopesh, but the monster parried his strikes with its horns and breathed fire.

breathed fire.

Felix was surrounded by a tornado of canopic jars that pummeled him from every direction as he swatted them with his staff. An army of tiny shabti had surrounded Alyssa, who was chanting desperately, using her earth magic to keep the room in one piece. The statue of Anubis chased Khufu around the room, smashing things with its fists as our brave baboon cradled the golden cabinet.

All around us, the power of Chaos grew. I felt it in my ears like a coming storm. The presence of Apophis was shaking apart the entire museum.

How could I help all my friends at once, protect that gold cabinet, and keep the museum from colapsing on top of us?

"Sadie," Walt prompted. "What's the plan?" The first criosphinx finaly pushed Hindenburg off its back. It turned and blew fire at the camel, which let loose one final fart and shrank back into a harmless gold amulet. Then the criosphinx turned toward me. It did not look pleased.

"Walt," I said, "guard me."

"Sure." He eyed the criosphinx uncertainly. "While you do what?"

Good question, I thought.

"We have to protect that cabinet," I said. "It's some sort of clue. We have to restore Ma'at, or this building will implode and we'll all die."

"How do we restore Ma'at?"

Instead of answering, I concentrated. I lowered my vision into the Duat.

It's hard to describe what it's like to experience the world on many levels at once - it's a bit like looking through 3D glasses and seeing hazy colorful auras around things, except the auras don't always match the objects, and the images are constantly shifting.

Magicians have to be careful when they look into the Duat. Best-case scenario, you'll get mildly nauseous. Worst-case scenario, your brain will explode.

In the Duat, the room was filed with the writhing coils of a giant red snake - the magic of Apophis slowly expanding and encircling my friends. I almost lost my concentration along with my dinner.

Isis, I caled. A little help?

The goddess's strength surged through me. I stretched out my senses and saw my brother battling the criosphinx. Standing in Carter's place was the warrior god Horus, his sword blazing with light.

Swirling around Felix, the canopic jars were the hearts of evil spirits - shadowy figures that clawed and snapped at our young friend, though Felix had a surprisingly powerful aura in the Duat.

His vivid purple glow seemed to keep the spirits at bay.

Alyssa was surrounded by a dust storm in the shape of a giant man. As she chanted, Geb the earth god lifted his arms and held up the ceiling. The shabti army surrounding her blazed like a wildfire.

the ceiling. The shabti army surrounding her blazed like a wildfire.

Khufu looked no different in the Duat, but as he leaped around the room evading the Anubis statue, the golden cabinet he was carrying flapped open. Inside was pure darkness - as if it were full of octopus ink.

I wasn't sure what that meant, but then I looked at Walt and gasped.

In the Duat, he was shrouded in flickering gray linen -

mummy cloth. His flesh was transparent. His bones were luminous, as if he were a living X-ray.

His curse, I thought. He's marked for death.

Even worse: the criosphinx facing him was the center of the Chaos storm. Tendrils of red lightning arced from its body. Its ram face changed into the head of Apophis, with yelow serpentine eyes and dripping fangs.

It lunged at Walt, but before it could strike, Walt threw an amulet. Golden chains exploded in the monster's face, wrapping around its snout. The criosphinx stumbled and thrashed like a dog in a muzzle.

"Sadie, it's all right." Walt's voice sounded deeper and more confident, as if he were older in the Duat. "Speak your spell. Hurry."

The criosphinx flexed its jaws. The gold chains groaned. The other criosphinx had backed Carter against a wal. Felix was on his knees, his purple aura failing in a swirl of dark spirits. Alyssa was losing her battle against the crumbling room as chunks of the ceiling

losing her battle against the crumbling room as chunks of the ceiling fell around her. The Anubis statue grabbed Khufu's tail and held him upside down while the baboon howled and wrapped his arms around the gold cabinet.

Now or never: I had to restore order.

I channeled the power of Isis, drawing so deeply on my own magic reserves, I could feel my soul start to burn. I forced myself to focus, and I spoke the most powerful of all divine words:

"Ma'at."

The hieroglyph burned in front of me - small and bright like a miniature sun:

"Good!" Walt said. "Keep at it!" Somehow he'd managed to pull in the chains and grab the sphinx's snout. While the creature bore down on him with all its force, Walt's strange gray aura was spreading across the monster's body like an infection. The criosphinx hissed and writhed. I caught a whiff of decay like the air from a tomb - so strong that I almost lost my concentration.

"Sadie," Walt urged, "maintain the spell!" I focused on the hieroglyph. I channeled all my energy into that symbol for order and creation. The word shone brighter. The coils of the serpent burned away like fog in sunlight. The two coils of the serpent burned away like fog in sunlight. The two criosphinxes crumbled to dust. The canopic jars fell and shattered.

The Anubis statue dropped Khufu on his head. The army of shabti froze around Alyssa, and her earth magic spread through the room, sealing cracks and shoring up wals.

I felt Apophis retreating deeper into the Duat, hissing in anger.

Then I promptly colapsed.

"I told you she could do it," said a kindly voice.

My mother's voice...but of course that was impossible. She was dead, which meant I spoke with her only occasionaly, and only in the Underworld.

My vision returned, hazy and dim. Two women hovered over me. One was my mum - her blond hair clipped back, her deep blue eyes sparkling with pride. She was transparent, as ghosts tend to be; but her voice was warm and very much alive. "It isn't the end yet, Sadie. You must carry on."

Next to her stood Isis in her white silky gown, her wings of rainbow light flickering behind her. Her hair was glossy black, woven with strands of diamonds. Her face was as beautiful as my mum's, but more queenly, less warm.

Don't misunderstand. I knew from sharing Isis's thoughts that she cared for me in her own way, but gods are not human. They have trouble thinking of us as more than useful tools or cute pets.

To gods, a human life span doesn't seem much longer than that of the average gerbil.

the average gerbil.

"I would not have believed it," Isis said. "The last magician to summon Ma'at was Hatshepsut herself, and even she could only do it while wearing a fake beard."

I had no idea what that meant. I decided I didn't want to know.

I tried to move but couldn't. I felt as if I were floating at the bottom of a bathtub, suspended in warm water, the two women's faces rippling at me from just above the surface.

"Sadie, listen carefuly," my mother said. "Don't blame yourself for the deaths. When you make your plan, your father will object. You must convince him. Tell him it's the only way to save the souls of the dead. Tell him..." Her expression turned grim.

"Tell him it's the only way he'll see me again. You must succeed, my sweet."

I wanted to ask what she meant, but I couldn't seem to speak.

Isis touched my forehead. Her fingers were as cold as snow.

"We must not tax her any further. Farewel for now, Sadie. The time rapidly approaches when we must join together again. You are strong. Even stronger than your mother. Together we will rule the world."

"You mean, Together we will defeat Apophis," my mother corrected.

"Of course," Isis said. "That's what I meant." Their faces blurred together. They spoke in a single voice: "I Their faces blurred together. They spoke in a single voice: "I love you."

A blizzard swept across my eyes. My surroundings changed, and I was standing in a dark graveyard with Anubis. Not the musty old jackal-headed god as he appeared in Egyptian tomb art, but Anubis as I usualy saw him - a teenaged boy with warm brown eyes, tousled black hair, and a face that was ridiculously, annoyingly gorgeous. I mean, please - being a god, he had an unfair advantage. He could look like anything he wanted. Why did he always have to appear in this form that twisted my insides to pretzels?

"Wonderful," I managed to say. "If you're here, I must be dead."

Anubis smiled. "Not dead, though you came close. That was a risky move."

A burning sensation started in my face and worked its way down my neck. I wasn't sure if it was embarrassment, anger, or delight at seeing him.

"Where have you been?" I demanded. "Six months, not a word."

His smile melted. "They wouldn't let me see you."

"Who wouldn't let you?"

"There are rules," he said. "Even now they're watching; but you're close enough to death that I can manage a few moments. I need to tell you: you have the right idea. Look at what isn't there.

It's the only way you might survive."

It's the only way you might survive."

"Right," I grumbled. "Thanks for not speaking in riddles." The warm sensation reached my heart. It began to beat, and suddenly I realized I'd been without a heartbeat since I'd passed out. That probably wasn't good.

"Sadie, there's something else." Anubis's voice became watery. His image began to fade. "I need to tell you - "

"Tell me in person," I said. "None of this 'death vision'

nonsense."

"I can't. They won't let me."

"You still sound like a little boy. You're a god, aren't you?

You can bloody well do what you like."

Anger smoldered in his eyes. Then, to my surprise, he laughed. "I'd forgotten how irritating you are. I'll try to visit... briefly. We have something to discuss." He reached out and brushed the side of my face. "You're waking now. Good-bye, Sadie."

"Don't leave." I grasped his hand and held it against my cheek.

The warmth spread throughout my body. Anubis faded away.

My eyes flew open. "Don't leave!"

My burned hands were bandaged, and I was gripping a hairy baboon paw. Khufu looked down at me, rather confused. "Agh?" Oh, fab. I was flirting with a monkey.

Oh, fab. I was flirting with a monkey.

I sat up groggily. Carter and our friends gathered around me.

The room hadn't colapsed, but the entire King Tut exhibit was in ruins. I had a feeling we would not be invited to join the Friends of the Dalas Museum anytime soon.

"Wh-what happened?" I stammered. "How long - ?"

"You were dead for two minutes," Carter said, his voice shaky. "I mean, no heartbeat, Sadie. I thought...I was afraid..." He choked up. Poor boy. He realy would have been lost without me.

[Ouch, Carter! Don't pinch.]

"You summoned Ma'at," Alyssa said in amazement. "That's like...impossible."

I suppose it was rather impressive. Using divine words to create an object like an animal or a chair or a sword - that's hard enough. Summoning an element like fire or water is even trickier.

But summoning a concept, like Order - that's just not done. At the moment, however, I was in too much pain to appreciate my own amazingness. I felt as if I'd just summoned an anvil and dropped it on my head.

"Lucky try," I said. "What about the golden cabinet?"

"Agh!" Khufu gestured proudly to the gilded box, which sat nearby, safe and sound.

"Good baboon," I said. "Extra Cheerios for you tonight." Walt frowned. "But the Book of Overcoming Apophis was Walt frowned. "But the Book of Overcoming Apophis was destroyed. How will a cabinet help us? You said it was some kind of clue...?"

I found it hard to look at Walt without feeling guilty. My heart had been torn between him and Anubis for months now, and it just wasn't fair of Anubis to pop into my dreams, looking all hot and immortal, when poor Walt was risking his life to protect me and getting weaker by the day. I remembered how he had looked in the Duat, in his ghostly gray mummy linen...

No. I couldn't think about that. I forced myself to concentrate on the golden cabinet.

Look at what isn't there, Anubis had said. Bloody gods and their bloody riddles.

The face in the wal - Uncle Vinnie - had told me the box would give us a hint about how to defeat Apophis, if I was smart enough to understand it.

"I'm not sure what it means yet," I admitted. "If the Texans let us take it back to Brooklyn House..."

A horrible realization settled over me. There were no more sounds of explosions outside. Just eerie silence.

"The Texans!" I yelped. "What's happened to them?" Felix and Alyssa bolted for the exit. Carter and Walt helped me to my feet, and we ran after them.

The guards had all disappeared from their stations. We reached the museum foyer, and I saw columns of white smoke outside the glass wals, rising from the sculpture garden.

outside the glass wals, rising from the sculpture garden.

"No," I murmured. "No, no."

We tore across the street. The wel-kept lawn was now a crater as big as an Olympic pool. The bottom was littered with melted metal sculptures and chunks of stone. Tunnels that had once led into the Fifty-first Nome's headquarters had colapsed like a giant anthil some buly had stepped on. Around the rim of the crater were bits of smoking evening wear, smashed plates of tacos, broken champagne glasses, and the shattered staffs of magicians.

Don't blame yourself for the deaths, my mother had said.

I moved in a daze to the remains of the patio. Half the concrete slab had cracked and slid into the crater. A charred fiddle lay in the mud next to a gleaming bit of silver.

Carter stood next to me. "We - we should search," he said.

"There might be survivors."

I swalowed back a sob. I wasn't sure how, but I sensed the truth with absolute certainty. "There aren't any." The Texas magicians had welcomed us and supported us. JD

Grissom had shaken my hand and wished me luck before running off to save his wife. But we'd seen the work of Apophis in other nomes. Carter had warned JD: The serpent's minions don't leave any survivors.

I knelt down and picked up the gleaming piece of silver - a half-melted Lone Star belt buckle.

"They're dead," I said. "All of them."


End file.
